[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 141 (Thursday, October 3, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12327-S12328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    THE OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS BILL

 Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I wish to talk about the 
omnibus appropriations bill adopted by the Senate this week and signed 
into law by the President.
  Passage and enactment before the end of the fiscal year was important 
to keep the Government in business and meeting the needs of American 
citizens.
  The bill is significant in that it continues the Republican Congress' 
move to balance the Federal budget by the year 2002. It would have been 
easier had the President and his party not been more interested in 
obstruction over cooperation. Still, this Congress has cut around 300 
unneeded Federal programs and saved $53 billion in discretionary 
spending.
  We provide for a higher level of defense funding than the President 
requested. We also approved strong anti-crime and antidrug packages, 
aggressive antiterrorism programs and stringent antiillegal immigration 
measures. The bill increases funding to our States and communities hard 
hit by natural disasters.
  My State of Idaho is one where residents and businesses had to cope 
with rains, floods, and wildfires this year. There is a role for the 
Federal Government in helping stabilize riverbeds and hillsides, 
reducing environmental damage, putting businesses back on solid footing 
and firefighting efforts. This bill accomplishes that.
  The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service watershed and flood 
prevention operations receive a $63 million increase in this bill, $5 
million will go to help the Boise area recover from the devastating 8th 
Street fire in the Boise foothills. Without immediate attention to the 
fragile hillsides, this winter's rains and next spring's snowmelt could 
send tons of water and mud into homes and businesses all along the 
Boise front.
  Additionally, the Bureau of Land Management's firefighting account 
will get a $17 million increase over last year. Wildfires are claiming 
more and more Western land, and the BLM's resources are stretched to 
the limit.
  The Forest Service, which manages more than 20 million acres in 
Idaho, gets a $144.5 million increase in firefighting funding, $17.7 
million for management of the National Forest System, almost $2 million 
for forest and rangeland research and nearly $19 million in State and 
private cooperative programs.
  The Federal Government owns two-thirds of the land in Idaho, so I'm 
pleased these needed increases will help develop and maintain solid 
management and cooperation with private and State landowners.
  Preservation of our natural resources and treasured environment is 
important to me and to Idaho. I'm pleased to see the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service will get a $6 million dollar increase for the 
cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund. This grant program to 
the States will allow for cooperative agreements to save species and 
habitat. As I work on a revised Endangered Species Act, I want to 
encourage cooperation of States and private land owners to enter into 
these types of arrangements. States and local governments will play a 
greater role in species protection and recovery in the future.
  Native Americans in Idaho and across the country will see increases 
in the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service. These 
increases are important so we don't neglect our obligations to tribes 
and their residents.
  Besides what this bill does, it is important for what it does not do. 
There are no increases in grazing fees for ranchers in the West. Other 
amendments which limit Native American sovereignty were also dropped.
  Mr. President, I am proud that this Congress passed, and the 
President signed, the Safe Drinking Water Act. The bill is the only 
major environmental legislation of the 104th Congress, and represents 
the way environmental laws should work. It protects public health and 
safety while giving States and communities the flexibility

[[Page S12328]]

to manage water systems to meet their local needs. It is truly the best 
way to ensure safe and affordable drinking water to every American.
  This omnibus appropriations bill includes an additional $40 million 
for the new Safe Drinking Water Act. $10 million will be dedicated to 
important health research on contaminants that are present in drinking 
water and that pose real threats to humans, like the microbe 
cryptosporidium that killed over 100 people in Milwaukee in 1993. With 
better science and a better understanding of contaminants in our 
drinking water, the Environmental Protection Agency and our States will 
be able to target their limited resources on the most serious water 
problems.
  Earlier I mentioned how this bill strengthens our national defense. 
While I do not agree with all that is in this omnibus package, 
especially the funding for foreign aid, I have to applaud stronger 
national defense.
  This bill provides an additional $9 million to slow the pace of the 
Clinton defense cuts. I believe this administration has cut too far, 
too fast. At a time when we're asking men and women in uniform to do 
more, we shouldn't be providing less. As our Armed Forces take part in 
so-called peace-keeping operations around the world, we should be 
supporting them, not cutting them. As chairman of the Armed Services 
Personnel Subcommittee, I'm pleased our military forces will be getting 
a 3 percent pay raise. I wish it could be more, but at least we're 
taking care of the troops and their families.

  Idaho plays a key role in research and development to keep our 
national defense the best and strongest in the world. I am proud of the 
dedicated scientists, engineers, and workers in Idaho who fill 
important roles to make sure when our troops are called into action, 
they have the best and most advanced equipment and technology. The work 
at laboratories from Idaho Falls to Sandpoint saves lives.
  The Department of Defense appropriations bill in this omnibus package 
funds projects which help diversify the missions at the Idaho National 
Engineering Laboratory. It provides $3.5 million for an Air Force 
Battle Management System and $3 million for the chemical weapons 
demilitarization Mobile Munitions Assessment System. These projects are 
designed to protect our forces in the field, where training and 
equipment are expected to perform.
  Our Navy benefits from this bill as well. This bill funds $40 million 
over the President's request for advanced submarine technology 
development, much of this work is done at the Navy's acoustic center at 
Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho. Pend Oreille is the deepest lake 
in the country, and provides an excellent laboratory and training 
ground for development of the quietest and hardest to detect submarines 
in any ocean.
  Mr. President, while I don't like the fact this bill is more than 
$6.5 billion dollars more than Congress originally proposed, it does 
continue to bring fiscal responsibility to the Federal budget, and 
continues the pledge this Republican Congress made to Americans to 
balance the budget. It is important to note these spending increases 
are paid for with other provisions in this bill.
  Therefore, Mr. President, I can only hope that in the next Congress, 
we can not only trim discretionary spending, but we can pass laws that 
will attack runaway mandatory spending. It is possible, if we have a 
President and a Congress that will work together.

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